Saving our Kids: SCHOOLS ARE EVERYBODY’S BUSINESS

Annette Mercer – L.A. CityWatch | http://bit.ly/hVn8O4

26 April 2011 - What do a T-Shirt, a Music Video, and Several Rallies have in Common? 

You might be surprised to find out that the answer is LAUSD kids and teens wanting to save their schools.  Yes – teenagers standing at the curb chanting “Education, Education” and “Save Our School, Save Our School”.  (The shirt was from Hamilton HS, the music video from Milliken MS, and the rallies were held at Hamilton HS, Mar Vista ES, Venice HS, SMC, CSUN, CSULB, and elsewhere in March and April.)

Why? Because the proposed funding for the 2011 school jeopardizes programs proven to produce high achieving, college bound students.  Such funding fires teachers who are known to be excellent, gets rid of shop and other practical life-skills classes that most everyone wants or needs, and increases class sizes well beyond reasonable levels. 

How can Biology students effectively do lab with 6 students around one piece of equipment? 

And how can an English teacher grade over 42 essays in a substantive yet timely manner (and that’s just one HS class out of five)? 

How does a shorter school year facilitate learning or keep kids off the streets?

How does the current plan to discontinue the Magnet programs achieve the stated goals of the Board of Education as well as those of the students in them?

These are the LAUSD Magnet programs that have achieved success when other programs have failed. These are the same Magnet programs that have waiting lists for enrollment city-wide.

These kids know that previous options for fulfilling college requirements or getting ahead, such as summer school, adult school, and community college, are likely no longer available.   What they and the broader community may not realize is the very real connection between these levels of spending cuts and property values, having a competent pool of potential employees for local companies in the future, and the attractiveness of LA as a place to live and do business.

In other words, that we ALL need a solution to the currently proposed cuts, not just those who have kids in school.

Most adults who grew up in California went to school in the days when the “Master Plan for Higher Education” was a model for public education nationwide.  When the University of California was not forced to recruit from out of state just to have funds, and kids just went to their local K-12 schools, because there was no reason not to do so. 

Back then over 60% of the funds for public schools came from local sources.  Starting in the 70’s (think Prop. 13) local funding for LAUSD declined from 60% to closer to 25-30% with more and more funding (percentage wise) coming from the state. This situation now leaves school funding wildly variable from year to year and exposed to the fluctuations of state economics and politics.  

One cannot help but wonder if the average California voter is aware of the precipitous drop in per pupil spending in California that has been a result of this spending shift. In 1970 California was above average in state spending.  By 2000 we were 34th out of 50  (already well below the national average.) 

Now the “Golden State” finds itself jockeying for position at the very bottom of the state rankings.  How can we justify spending only $7,444 for every student (2009/2010) vs. $58,000 for every prisoner? 

Combine this with a lower than average spending for facilities, and other factors, and we get lower adjusted teacher salaries, higher class sizes, and the resulting lower student achievement and lower college attendance rates.

Even if the goal of our educational system did not include preparing all students for college, it is without a doubt our schools’ duty to prepare each student to be a productive member of society – able to effectively do a job and contribute to the community.   Can we say that we are even doing that?

Another major difference since we were kids is the change in population.  The state has 5 million more people than 10 years ago. According to the State Controller’s Office there are about 10.5 million youth in the state  now (ages 0-18), up from about 9.7 million 10 years ago. 

LAUSD enrolls more students than Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, Hawaii, and Rhode Island combined (2002-2003 numbers.)  It is one of the largest districts in the nation in terms of population of English learners, special education, and economically disadvantaged.  All this adds up to more needs for all types of students, and not enough support from the state government - now our main source of funding. 

It is a different world from when we were in school.  And the results are becoming more and more apparent.

The so-called Doomsday budget proposed by LAUSD is a “worst-case” budget… but looking more and more likely.  It puts funding levels at those of 10 years ago when gas was $1.14 a gallon  and populations were lower. 

At a recent Mar Vista Education forum the only thing that School Board member Zimmer, AJ Duffy (UTLA), NewTLA, charters, and parents could all agree on was the need to increase funding.  The proposed cuts are too much.

When cuts include dismantling magnet school programs, that bring together kids from diverse backgrounds into a common, exceptional, learning environment, or force the choice between teachers and counselors, or arts, or librarians, or aides and clerical, or custodians - all essential parts of a school - they are too much!

And it isn’t just LAUSD!  Christopher J. Steinhauser, the superintendent of the Long Beach Unified School District expressed his very similar concerns in the Long Beach Press Telegram (4/11/11):

“…Class sizes are swelling. Our outdoor science camp that was started in 1949 is gone. High school requirements for computer literacy and health? Gone. Summer school? Gone... Maintenance and other central operations have been cut to the bone. ... By the time today's elementary school children reach high school, they may find that we have eliminated programs such as sports, band and the wide array of college preparatory classes and workforce training courses now offered.

Remember, we're talking about a school system where one high school sends more athletes to the NFL than any other high school in the nation, where music programs have been named among America's best by the GRAMMY Foundation, where 74 percent of graduates go to college, and where high school seniors earned $51 million in scholarships last year….The result of such continued cuts will be plummeting property values citywide, persistent unemployment, increased crime and the type of tragic, urban decay that we've witnessed in Detroit and other major cities whose public school systems were neglected for too long.”

The question is… what to do?  We have a new superintendent who seems able and willing to do what needs to be done at LAUSD but the Legislature has refused to put tax extensions on the June ballot. 

The unions are (understandably) resisting further pay cuts and furloughs.  LAUSD doesn’t control construction or gasoline costs.  Getting health and welfare benefits under control is a huge problem.  And the state owes LAUSD $9.5 million that was “borrowed” for the 2011-12 budget year.

This is an open plea for every resident and legislator to increase the funding to K-12 school districts and the colleges and universities immediately.  Not only at the state level but also  by passing local funding when it comes to the ballot. The downward spiral of underfunding education in California must STOP.

We must act NOW to extend the taxes that benefit education and protect California's children from an "all-cuts" budget.  And we must continue to act until our schools are safe and stable financially.  Yes, this will entail difficult choices and compromise from each side of the debate. Now is the time to show leadership on this issue.

Do we really think that our economy will grow or remain strong with a poorly educated employee pool? 

Do we want to be dead-last in the country in education?

Do we want the expense and delay of a lawsuit because our children are being denied an education? 

California has one of the largest economies in the world; diverse, and strong in science and technology. 

We were the first state to top $1trillion in personal income (California DOF).

We can fix this but we need to fix it now, before the May revise and before the November elections.

We cannot wait until an election.  We cannot wait until things settle down or it is a better time.  We cannot just wish for a philanthropist to appear (although perhaps the Mayor will find us one).  We all need a good education system.

Our kids will remember the protests and rallies and fighting for what they believe in. 

The voters will remember those elected leaders who demonstrate the courage and vision to reach out and provide the level of funding necessary to fund our schools.  

Our kids can’t survive an “all cuts” budget, and neither can you or California.  Please help. Schools are everybody’s business.

(Annette Mercer is a public school and UC alumnus and parent and lives on Los Angeles’ Westside.)  -cw